September 20, 2007
Where's the Outrage over the Jena 6? (Bill Press)
Just when I was wondering whatever happened to Jesse Jackson, he pops up to accuse Barack Obama of “acting like he’s white” — for not making a bigger deal about recent events in Jena, La.
He’s wrong about Obama, who has condemned what happened in Jena. But Jackson’s right about this: Why aren’t we all more outraged about what’s going on down there? And why aren’t we hearing more about Jena, and less about O.J.?
In case you’re ignorant of the facts, like I was until Jesse Jackson spoke out, here they are:
Black high school students were told they couldn’t sit under a certain tree on school property because it was for “whites only.” When they got permission from the principal to do so, they found three nooses hanging from the tree.
At a school assembly, the local district attorney told students he could “make their lives disappear with the stroke of my pen.” He subsequently charged six black students with attempted murder with a deadly weapon for striking a white student during a brawl that followed. Deadly weapon? Their tennis shoes.
Meanwhile, the three white students who started everything by hanging nooses from the tree were merely suspended from school for two days.
And we thought we’re living in an America where a black man could be elected president? We’re not even living in an America where a black man can sit under the same tree as a white man.
In the middle of all the O.J. coverage, isn’t there time to talk about Jena?
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Let's discuss it Bill. Are you saying that a racial prank compares with six individuals beating up one individual on a racial basis? If six whites beat up one black and put him in the hospital you'd be the first in line to condemn the courts if the courts didn't put them away for 20 years. Look at OJ Simpson, blacks cheered when he was acquitted. Look at black communities. In Philadelphia, over one murder is committed every day. In Baltimore the crime rate is out of control. In Knoxville, Tn. a young white male and his female companion were kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed by 5 black males and a black female acquaintance was also indicted. There was no outrage in the press about that whatsoever. There is a double standard in the press and in segments of our society. When you're outraged over incidents involving one race, the public may get to the point where they perceive the outrage as phony and misplaced and react accordingly. You may be part of the problem. Look at the facts, not the emotion, or the color.
Comment by Robert Rosencrans — September 20, 2007 @ 8:23 am
Very telling that you chose to leave out some of the most important facts in the case. e.g., The student was beaten unconscious by the "Jena 6″ (as in "6 on 1″) with punches and kicks (which you disingenuously choose to characterize as "Deadly weapon? Their tennis shoes.")
Nice spin.
Having said that, I agree that the charges and sentencing are way too harsh.
Yes, racism is alive and well in America today - and nowhere is it more prevalent than within the black community where the sole determinent in forming an opinion about a victim or the accused is the color of that person's skin, and racist behavior against whites, hispanics, asians - you name it - is the norm and considered "justified".
Comment by Art — September 20, 2007 @ 9:02 am
Mr. Press — You are 1000% percent correct and spot on here! This story should be the top news story above OJ or anything else. Shame on the federal government for not getting on this. The is not a Black and White issue. The Republican candidates should make a big deal about it too!
Comment by John Simmons — September 20, 2007 @ 9:15 am
[...] He's wrong. I know he doesn't want to be the "black" candidate and he doesn't want to align himself with these racial issues, but Obama is wrong here. This is very much a matter of black and white. The nooses were a clue: Black high school students were told they couldn’t sit under a certain tree on school property because it was for “whites only.” When they got permission from the principal to do so, they found three nooses hanging from the tree. [...]
Pingback by Obama is wrong « A Pedestrian View — September 20, 2007 @ 10:00 am
What the hell is "acting white" supposed to mean? What stereotypical white behavior is the founder of the so-called Rainbow Coalition referring to so dismissively? And if a white power-broker accused a white candidate of "acting like he's black," wouldn't Jesse Jackson (and his buddy Al Sharpton) be in the front row of the lynch mob calling for his disembowelment?
I'm so confused.
The double standard on racism is weighing us down. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a day when his children would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, yet his most intimate followers — including Jesse Jackson — seem more obsessed with the color of a man's skin than the content of his character. If Jesse Jackson (and many, many other black leaders) cannot live up to King's standard, can they truly expect other races to do it?
I won't waste any more of your bandwidth. I blogged more fully about this at Under the News
Comment by Ron Franscell — September 20, 2007 @ 11:34 am
Obviously some people are more equal than others. Any crime if motivated by victimhood must be OK. Democratic family values!
Comment by Igor R. — September 20, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
Unfortunately, Jesse Jackson and Rev. Sharpton are so well known for their, shall we say, 'outbursts of racism calling' that when folks see that they are the ones leading/cheering the rallys for things like this, they tend to tune them out.
It's also unfortunate that one of the protestors, I did not catch his name, started commenting on God wiping Jena off the face of the earth with a huge wave. This is Terrorism like talk.
When I hear an American say things like that, it makes me think…and we think THEY are terrorists?
I can only hope that someone with power can step in and calm things down. Haven't we had enough killing?
Comment by Connie Manes — September 20, 2007 @ 3:06 pm
The black kids beat a white boy half to death….there is nothing racist about convicting them for this crime.White or black you can not gang up on a person and try to kill them without being punished.
Comment by fcsanders — September 20, 2007 @ 4:43 pm
Who told the students they were not allowed to sit under a tree designated for white kids? That is what needs to be clarified
Comment by Jonas — September 20, 2007 @ 5:12 pm
The beating happened almost a month later, and there has been nothing in any of the 6's claims about it being retaliation for the nooses. Do I believe that the kids who hung the nooses are wrong and should be punished? Of course. Do I think that the sentences for the assault are too high? Probably. But I also think that this is just a little perfect storm of circumstances that is being exponentially blown up. Maybe it's a good thing that it is being blown up. Maybe it will get us to look at racism and come to terms with the fact that we have to grow up as a society. But. I don't think that the 6 are the civil rights heroes that are needed for true change to happen.
Comment by Jake — September 21, 2007 @ 1:43 am
For all of you who don't know, hanging nooses around black people will get you hurt. For many years white folks used to hang black people just for sport and in most cases it was for voting, being uppity or because some white man thought that he was dissed. To hang a noose was a way of inmididation and for many years it worked. Now if you are bold enough to hang a noose, you may get your butt kicked. Also, what some of you are missing, is that 6 white kids attacked a black kid and was charged with battery instead of attemped murder. What was the difference, they were white. So for all you know it alls that think that it is okay to hang a noose around black folks, think again. For your knowledge here is the definition of strange fruit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Fruit
Comment by Mike Coleman — September 21, 2007 @ 12:19 pm
Mike, what are you saying? Just because some racist hangs some nooses it's open season on white people?
Comment by Igor R. — September 21, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
Is anyone else tired of the one-sided racism debate in this country? Some stupid, racist students hang nooses in a tree–they didn't hang people, they hung nooses. Stupid? Yes. Racist? Most probably. Deplorable? Of course. Against the law and a good reason for six students to nearly beat ONE student to death? C'mon, folks, let's use some common sense here. There HAS been injustice displayed in this case…but it isn't that blacks have not received justice, it's because they have.
Comment by David — September 27, 2007 @ 10:45 am
Regarding Obama, the reason why his opinions are so "white", so to say; is not because he is after everybody's votes. His comments on this case and the college basketball female players reflect his upbringing. He was raised by a White mother and step father in the most expensive state of the nation: Hawaii. It is also one of the states with the highest quality of life. We cannot expect him to understand the problems that unwealthy minorities suffer. He was not raised downtown in a big city. He was not raised poor or within a minority group. He did not have to fear for his safety or his life or how to put bread on the table. Don't expect him to understand those things. Just remind him (just in case he stopped saying it for a second) that he is tall. If you add some comments about his being fit, he will give you details about how to keep fit in Hawaii or how cool Harvard law school was. Those things are his experiences and he can understand that. He can understand money and a varied financial portfolio. He always had an expensive health plan paid by his parents. Even now, look where he lives, where he used to work….etc.
Comment by Felicia Mary — October 11, 2007 @ 6:56 pm
The lethal weapon to kick the boy was the sum of 12 strong legs from 6 violent individuals, kicking until the boy passed out. It was not throwing some "sneakers" at him.
Comment by Gail — October 11, 2007 @ 7:01 pm
The white boy went to a party that same night. Hanging nooses is not a prank. And why is it when white kids do something wrong, they never get punished the same as black kids.
Comment by art bailey — November 1, 2007 @ 9:33 pm